The Portland daily press., 1887-01-05
FROM WASHINGTON.
The Committees on cIaIms-How
They are Annoyed.
A Bill to Extend the Provisions of the
French SpoIlatIon Claims.
Senate and House Adjourn Out Of
Respect to Logan's Memory.
rspeelal to the Press.1

Especial to the Press.1
WASHINGTON, Jan. 4-There is one COM
mittee in both the House and Senate, ap-
pointments to which are never very much
sought after by Representatives or Senators
These are the committees on claims. The
members of these committees hardly know
what it is to have any peace during the ses-
sions of Congress. Day and night they are
constantly beseiged by horde Of persons,
old and young and of both sexes, each with
their little claim which they must aid in put
ting through Congress. The average claim
ant at the Capitol can be told at glance.
There is a kind of hungry look, and gem
eral seediness and an appearance OF being
out at the elbows than cannot be mistaken.
They hang around the corridors Of the Capt.
tol, and around the doors of the claims COM
mittee rooms, and run to the luckless Sena-
tor or Representative whom they succeed in
covering He will have to listen to tale Of
woe indeed. Many of the claimants are old
stagers who have been here almost from
time immemorial. One of the most persist
ent Of these old timers is an old lady from
Alabama who has claim against the gov
ernment for cotton destroyed during the
war. For almost every day during the ses-
81 on of Congress during the last twenty
years she has visited the Capitol, and sent in
her card to Senators and Members, but still
she seems no nearer gaining her end than
when she first began. She has had one bill
for $4,000 from Congress and received her
money, but that does not satisfy her. and
she bids fair to spend all she has received in
futile endeayors to get more.
The usual mode of procedure for claim
ants is to call at the card door Of the House
and Senate, and taking the list Of the claims
committee send their card in to each member
in succession fromithe chairman down. The
persistency Of the claimant is generally in
an adverse ratio to the amount Of his claim.
The smaller the claim the more urgent the
claimant. There is another claimant who has
been bothering the Senators and Representa-
tives for the last two sessions. His claim is
a small one, only $500. but for that he spends
his whole time at the Capital day after day.
He has a fine business in the city from which
he makes as much in a few weeks as his
whole claim amounts to, but he neglects it
entirely to prosecute his claim. 1t will gen.
orally pay man who has claim against
the government to sell it for waste paper,
and go TO work as day laborer, rather than
attempt to come to Washington and try to
get his claim through Congress.
Just now the claimants are more clamor-
Gus than ever because in a short time the
Congress expires, and.any advantage their
case may have gained in either House, viii
be lost, and have to be done all over again
at the next Congress.
The act of Congress allowing those persons
having valid claims against the United
States for depredations committed against
them by the French to apply by petition to
the court of claims for an examination Of
their cases expires Jan. 20. There is such
large number of these French Spoilation
Claims that in the two years since the law
was passed only comparatively small por-
tion of the claimants have been able to pre-
sent their cases and there will be very
large number of claims which are without
doubt valid which must fail for lack of time.
To obyiate this in some measure Senator
Frye has prepared and win at once introduce
in the Senate bill extending the provisions
of the act for further period of six months.
Endeayor will be made to secure the passage
of this bill at an early date, and if successful
it will enable a lare number of claimants to
bring their cases before the court of claims
and ultimately before Congress, who would
otherwise fail for lack of time
Pensions have been granted to Lucy A.,
widow of Daniel Quinsby of Phillips; Nell
son Mcdaniel, Someryille; Sewall Petten-
gill, Wayne.
Personal.
F. NJ. Perkins, Waterville, and Austin
Carey of EEast Machias, arrived here to-
night, as delegates to the meeting of the
Deta Kappa Epsilon fraternity held here
this week.
In Memory of Senator Logan.
The Senate and House, soon after reas-
sembling, adjourned as mark of respect to
the memory of Senator Logan.
A Prisoners Sentence COMMITTED.
The President has commuted to five years
imprisonment the death sentence of John w.
Parrot OF Arkansas, convicted of murder
and sentenced to be hanged January IA. He
made tie following endorsement on the ap-
plication for Parrots pardon: ~ am not
quite willing to pardon absolutely this con-
vict after his conviction Of murder and after
the denial of a motion for new trial based
substantially upon all the papers now before
me. | am fully satisfied he ought not to suf-
fer the extreme penalty of the law, but l do
not think when he killed the elder Mr.. Ad-
ans he was so driven to the wall by the at
tack of his assailant as to clearly excuse the
taking of life. do not think the convict in
vited the attack, but in considering an appli-
cation for his pardon l cannot overlook the
fact that he armed himself and went to the
place where the man was who had threat
ened to kill HIM before night. In the belief
that the prisoner should be punished for the
part he took in this homicide, and that he
j. guilty of a crime much less than murder.
have determined to commute his sentence
% imprisonment at hard labor for term of
five Years"